April

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"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

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"Possibility exists to be redefined."

April of the Calendar Council is a weapons engineer and revolutionary leader.

Reports Of Her Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Known to the public as munitions expert Emilia Hathersage, April has been presumed dead since an explosion at the factory of her company, Cotterell & Hathersage.[1] It is left unclear whether this explosion was intended to feign her death, or whether she simply exploited a convenient opportunity.[2] Regardless, while some may recognize her, her identity is kept hidden.[3]

Although April survived this incident largely unscathed, she has lost her hearing and now primarily communicates through writing.[4] She is no less of an effective and inquisitive ally when it comes to her interests;[5] she is a brilliant engineer[6][7] and Red Scientist,[8] and has fearlessly devoted herself to opposing the Masters[9] and the Bazaar.[10][11] She can occasionally be a bit of a hypocrite,[12][13] and has a penchant for turning her attention to an often witty drawing when words fail.[14][15]

While more discreet in her support of the Liberation of Night than some of her colleagues,[16][17] April is an anarchist[18] and labor advocate[19] who also favors separation of church and state.[20] A book on explosive ordnance written by April is kept in the Agendums of Ascent.[21]

April has a close relationship with Sinning Jenny,[22][23] with whom she shares a goal of slaying the Vake.[24] She is also on friendly terms with Furnace Ancona[25][26] and August,[27][28] and is a clear supporter of January.[29] She has more respect for September than some other members of the Council,[30][31] but seems to agree with the likes of January that he cannot follow up on his words.[32] Conversely, April dislikes Cornelius[33] and predictably is not fond of royal servants.[34]

Errata: April's name has been spelled as both Emilia and Emelia.

References

  1. ↑ Ambition: Bag a Legend!: April's Attention, Fallen London "Calamity visited Wolfstack Docks in the late hours when an explosion blasted the Cotterell & Hathersage factory. The accident incurred a mortality of fifteen [...] Included in the toll was Emilia Hathersage, co-founder of the company: a woman of fierce ingenuity and meticulous conscience."
  2. ↑ Ambition: Bag a Legend!: April's Attention, Fallen London "Did she arrange the explosion – to feign her death? Or did she exploit an opportunity? Whichever is the case, Miss Hathersage is alive and well, plotting revolution for London as April of the Calendar Council."
  3. ↑ Proposing the removal of April, Fallen London "“I highly value the input of my note-making colleague,” he says. No one calls her either Emilia or April, here."
  4. ↑ Ambition: Bag a Legend!: an Appointment with April, Fallen London "April meets you on one groaning bridge. A stocky woman in oily overalls, with calloused hands and short, unevenly cut hair. She does not speak. A clay assistant accompanies her. [...] When you begin, the assistant steps forward. He nods back at April, then touches his ears. "WRITE IT DOWN," he says, and pushes a notepad into your hands. Emelia Hathersage might have survived last year's explosion, but it seems her hearing did not."
  5. ↑ Write down what you want from her, Fallen London "Her scribbled questions are exacting. She wants to know about yield, mode of delivery, targets, time-frame. She demands to see the weapon's specifications, and you allow her a single page."
  6. ↑ The Chorister's Bomb, Fallen London "Rooting around the chaotic workbenches for a pen and paper, she begins writing. Device completed according to specifications. Problem: it doesn't work. Theory sound; practice inconvenient. Core syllable indivisible – absolute in its essence; perfect in its simplicity. Cannot be broken down. Therefore, no catalyst. [...] Service provided: bomb perfect. It is the world that is inadequate. Recommend you deploy the device somewhere less restrictive. Somewhere amenable to new things."
  7. ↑ Plan the next route across a ravine, Fallen London "April has personally drawn up the specifications for the bridge. They are magnificently drawn, and the Correspondence sigils on the underside describe how each arc of the span must conform in shape to certain heavenly motions."
  8. ↑ Seek her special expertise, Fallen London "What remains is pure Red Science: able to convert WHO into WHY, to transform the vital living being of the Vake into fragmentary and fugitive purposes. There may be some clean-up required, afterward."
  9. ↑ Persuade April, Fallen London "April's face puckers with rage and she begins to write her reply. And write. And write. You don't need to see it to guess the gist: she doesn't trust anyone who looks like they might be in the pocket of Mr Fires."
  10. ↑ Ask what might happen if the Creditor does contact the Bazaar, Fallen London "On her own notes, April has sketched the Bazaar in the midst of a highly detailed explosion. Her spires have toppled; her lower levels are on fire."
  11. ↑ Ask to see the postal details, Fallen London "Or an explosive? writes April hopefully. Some compounds produce an exothermic reaction with the Bazaar's natural lacre."
  12. ↑ Proposing the removal of the Gracious Widow, Fallen London "The Widow presents certain challenges of public relations, April writes. Public relations. This from a woman who cannot be seen outside and who is generally believed dead."
  13. ↑ Proposing the Dean of Xenotheology as Patron of the Burrow Church, Fallen London "We shouldn't encourage divided loyalties, April writes, hypocritically."
  14. ↑ Recommending More Luxurious Fittings for Each Train, Fallen London "April doesn't bother with a full written argument and merely draws a satirical picture of a woman in a large bustle sitting with a parasol aboard the train."
  15. ↑ Take the vote and declare Victory (Remove April), Fallen London "You arrange to have a message sent. April's response is a drawing, a red flag planted in the heart of the Bazaar by a small figure that looks just like her."
  16. ↑ Rely on April, Fallen London "April works much of the day and most of the night on the experiment. There are pages and pages of meticulous notes. At the bottom: The stars are b___ds."
  17. ↑ Extract an understanding of its venoms, Fallen London "Its face is set to travel downward, to escape the pitiless light. [...] In the margin of your notes, April writes: Even dead, it is seeking Liberation."
  18. ↑ Recommending Worker Co-ownership, Fallen London "They would be better owners than a set of lords and Masters, writes April."
  19. ↑ Recommending the Strike be Broken, Fallen London "I sympathise with the objectives of the Union, April writes. But we cannot spare them much more time."
  20. ↑ Proposing the Bishop of St Fiacre's as Patron of the Burrow Church, Fallen London "Bishops belong in churches, writes April, without evident enthusiasm."
  21. ↑ The Calendar Code, Fallen London "Why, yes! By surrounding the projectile in a disposable lightweight material, you could keep it centred in the barrel and significantly increase accuracy. That makes sense. Now, how about introducing an incendiary component? This tile looks just the thing."
  22. ↑ Persuade April, Fallen London "Sinning Jenny is sitting between April and April's Clay man […]. Once April has given her answer, she returns to looking at something Jenny was drawing on a sheet of paper. […] it looks like the plan for some kind of curved sword."
  23. ↑ Persuade Sinning Jenny, Fallen London "April is sitting so that she can see [...] Jenny's answer, April nods and meets Jenny's eye."
  24. ↑ April and Jenny, Fallen London "April's warnings sound ominous. You glance at Jenny, but she shakes her head. "I don't know. None of us ever got this close to killing it.""
  25. ↑ Persuade Furnace, Fallen London ""Our note-taking friend is brilliant," says Furnace simply. "A mind of the first order, and very solid against the schemes of the Masters. I would sooner lose almost anyone else from the Board.""
  26. ↑ Persuade April, Fallen London "A brief, wordless look of solidarity passes between April and Furnace Ancona."
  27. ↑ Persuade April, Fallen London "The Jovial Contrarian looks taken aback, and writes something [...]. He passes it to April. She reads it, frowns, shakes her head, and puts the paper in her mouth. For the next thirty seconds everyone watches April eating the Contrarian's message."
  28. ↑ Persuade the Jovial Contrarian, Fallen London "For once, the Jovial Contrarian does not seem to be joking. "I highly value the input of my note-making colleague," […] "I consider it one of the Board's greatest triumphs to attract her participation, and to lose her would be a loss to the company.""
  29. ↑ Proposing the removal of January, Fallen London "If we do not find enough value in her wisdom, writes April. A grudging acceptance, but an acceptance."
  30. ↑ Proposing the removal of September, Fallen London "Worth keeping on the board, April writes. Only complaint is that it's hard for him to come to meetings all the way from Balmoral."
  31. ↑ Proposing a courtship for September (player or Gondolier), Fallen London "The boy deserves all this and more. September shoots her a surprised look, but April is already writing another note. Don’t thank me yet."
  32. ↑ Proposing that September become Castellan of Balmoral, Fallen London "Too interested in words, not enough in deeds, writes April."
  33. ↑ Proposing the removal of Cornelius, Fallen London "He's got twelve plans and he keeps half of them secret from himself. And then there's the Discordance business, which you don't want to bring in here or anywhere."
  34. ↑ Proposing the removal of the Wry Functionary, Fallen London "Aye, good riddance to the Palace, writes April."
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